The Alibi of the Man With No Alibi
by DoctorH
Summary: A teleplay of a Murdoch Mysteries episode, involving a "locked room" mystery. A murder occurs in a house, with Murdoch and Crabtree in the house at the time. Everybody in the house has an alibi, except for one man; and Murdoch finds that this man actually has an alibi as well! So whodunit? The solution appears in the the teleplay, which is like watching an actual episode on TV.
1. ACT 1

"THE ALIBI OF THE MAN WITH NO ALIBI"

This story is dedicated with deepest affection to M.L.S.H.

(PRODUCTION NOTES: This mystery assumes a particular floor layout of a house, with particular rooms in particular locations. It is not absolutely essential that the house be laid out in this particular way, however, and it may be possible to adjust the mystery to a different floor plan. It will be evident from the story that certain physical features, such as the office having two doors, must be accommodated; but floor plan and character locations may be adjusted— along with the accompanying dialog— to suit a particular chosen set, while still achieving the effects outlined in the mystery.)

ACT I

(FADE IN. Outside the gate of a luxurious house— one might almost call it a small mansion. The house is surrounded by a formidable fence or wall. MURDOCH and CRABTREE, dressed in civilian business attire, approach the gate. WHITBY, a muscular servant, stands in their way.)

WHITBY  
Gentlemen. May I please see your invitations?

MURDOCH  
Of course.

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE show documents to WHITBY, who examines the documents, then opens the gate for MURDOCH and CRABTREE.)

WHITBY  
Thank you, gentlemen, and welcome.

MURDOCH and CRABTREE  
Thank you.

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE approach the front door of the house, MURDOCH taking a quick backward glance at WHITBY as WHITBY closes the gate and resumes his formidable pose. BRIGGS, acting as doorman, stands at the door of the house. BRIGGS has a few words with MURDOCH and CRABTREE before opening the door.)

BRIGGS  
Ah, officers. So glad you are here. I trust you're going to be comfortable posing as— well, as something other than policemen?

MURDOCH  
We won't tell anyone that we are with the constabulary unless it becomes necessary. We have decided to take your suggestion, and if asked, we will say we are "interested in Mr. Tate's art."

CRABTREE  
We just plan to look at the paintings and stroke our chins a lot.

MURDOCH  
Meanwhile, we'll be keeping an eye on the other guests.

BRIGGS  
Good. And thank you. All of the other guests have arrived.

MURDOCH  
Hmm, they were early, then. Have there been any more threats?

BRIGGS  
Yes, this one came this morning. Here. (BRIGGS hands MURDOCH an envelope.) Sorry, I forgot what you said about handling papers to preserve finger imprints.

MURDOCH (politely correcting)  
Finger marks.

(MURDOCH extracts a note from the envelope, opens the note and reads. The lettering is block letters.)

MURDOCH  
"Those who lack compassion do not deserve compassion."

BRIGGS  
A little less threatening than the other notes, but it certainly isn't friendly.

(MURDOCH offers no more than a noncommittal shrug, and pockets the note.)

BRIGGS (gesturing toward the house)  
I believe the people here today are harmless. They don't know each other, and will probably keep to themselves. Mr. Tate has allowed them to wander on the main floor pretty much where they wish. He'll address them in the drawing room in about ten minutes. (Gesturing to the man at the gate) I've asked Whitby out there to make sure no troublemakers try to get in.

(MURDOCH nods, understanding the precaution. BRIGGS opens the front door to the house. MURDOCH and CRABTREE enter the house and proceed through an entryway down a hallway toward a large main room. The hallway is poorly illuminated; any hallway lighting fixtures are off. Framed paintings line the hallway, though they are hard to see. MURDOCH notices a closed door to the left, which is hard to see in the darkness; there is, however, some light streaming from underneath that door and significantly fainter light around its vertical edges. MURDOCH also sees a partially open door to the right. MURDOCH notices Mr. & Mrs. OLIVER exiting that door and walking away from the front door down the hall toward the main room. The partially open door leads to a drawing room, in which there seems to be a considerable amount of artwork, along with a fireplace and furniture, and in which the lighting is better. MURDOCH sees Mr. PASCAL in the drawing room, staring at a painting.)

CRABTREE  
Quite the place, eh?

MURDOCH  
It's like a museum, just as we were told. Mr. Tate is obviously quite wealthy.

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE enter the main room at the end of the hallway. This room is well-illuminated. There is a door leading from the main room to a veranda outdoors. Only part of the veranda can be seen, but it seems to have a waist-high railing around it. A few other people are standing or milling about, but they don't seem to be interacting with each other: Mrs. WEST, Mr. LAWRENCE, Mr. SMITHSON, and Mr. & Mrs. OLIVER can be seen, some of them in the main room, others in adjoining areas. Nobody seems to be truly at ease. WEST is rather short in stature; SMITHSON is rather tall; PASCAL has a large moustache. Mr. & Mrs. OLIVER, an older couple, find seats in a corner of the main room; their chairs seem to be the only ones in the room. All of the men are wearing dark clothing. PASCAL saunters past MURDOCH and CRABTREE toward what appears to be an entrance to a dining room. The other guests may be examining the artwork, or may simply be waiting. Mr. & Mrs. OLIVER are conversing, apparently wondering who MURDOCH and CRABTREE are. Otherwise, nobody seems to notice or care that MURDOCH and CRABTREE have entered. CRABTREE sees a tray of cheeses and tea, all of which seem to be untouched. None of the other people has any tea or cheese. CRABTREE quickly helps himself to a piece of cheese, and uses this as a pretense to gain a position to see into other rooms. MURDOCH carefully scans the area, seeing one or two other people in other rooms or hallways. A dark figure walking down the hallway emerges into the light; it turns out to be BRIGGS. There is doorway to a library adjacent to the main room, but MURDOCH cannot see much of the library through the doorway. Deciding to check out the library adjacent to the main room, MURDOCH enters the library, and beckons CRABTREE to follow; CRABTREE follows, finishing the last bite of cheese as he goes, and carefully yet thoroughly surveying the people and surroundings. The library has a respectable amount of artwork in it, along with several bookshelves. MURDOCH and CRABTREE notice Mr. CRAWFORD examining a small sculpture; CRAWFORD was not seen until the MURDOCH and CRABTREE entered the library. CRAWFORD looks up and sees MURDOCH and CRABTREE, then ambles away from them and into the drawing room, where he disappears from view. MURDOCH walks over to the sculpture that CRAWFORD was studying. CRABTREE joins MURDOCH. MURDOCH sees an open doorway leading from the library to the drawing room, but he cannot see much of what is in the drawing room. Turning in a different direction, MURDOCH notices that SMITHSON, still in the main room, can see MURDOCH and CRABTREE. SMITHSON notices MURDOCH and CRABTREE and starts to walk generally toward the library, but pauses as if to look at a painting. MURDOCH looks around and sees no one other than CRABTREE and SMITHSON. MURDOCH judges that there is sufficient privacy to talk to CRABTREE without being overheard.)

MURDOCH  
How many people do you see here, George?

CRABTREE (strokes his chin, thinks a moment)  
Seven. No, eight. Not including the man at the gate, or ourselves.

MURDOCH  
Mr. Tate is a heavyset, grey-haired man, I understand. I haven't seen him yet. Have you?

(As CRABTREE shakes his head, there is a noticeable but not very loud thud sound like a door closing [SFX]. MURDOCH hears the sound and turns his head, but dismisses it as unimportant. CRABTREE freezes momentarily.)

MURDOCH  
With all these rooms, it is going to be difficult to keep an eye on everyone. Let's go where the most of the guests are and we'll have a better chance to observe—

(A woman's scream is heard. MURDOCH and CRABTREE rush into the main room, in the direction of the scream. People begin shouting confused and frightened exclamations (such as "Oh, my word!" or "What in the— ?"); it is not clear who is shouting. As this is happening, MURDOCH and CRABTREE see BRIGGS in the main room with a horrified look on his face. MURDOCH, CRABTREE and BRIGGS rush through from the main room, go past a kitchen, through a dining room, and into an office. WEST, LAWRENCE and PASCAL are already in the office; Mr. & Mrs. OLIVER, SMITHSON, BRIGGS and CRAWFORD arrive quickly afterward. Everyone except MURDOCH and CRABTREE is emotional: shocked, anxious, and frightened. A moment later, Mr. ROSS appears. ROSS is not dressed as well as the other men, and has a heavily bandaged left hand. TATE, a heavyset and grey-haired man, is bent over his desk, a bloody wound in the back of his head. The desk has several papers on it, and some are spattered with blood. A small yet formidable-looking and perhaps still-smoking pistol is on the desk, next to a small but well-stuffed pillow with a scorched bullet hole in it. Behind the desk are a bookcase and table, but there is enough room for an assailant to have stood behind TATE. MURDOCH is momentarily stunned, and out of habit, quickly crosses himself. There is another door leading from the library. CRAWFORD points to this door and begins to rush toward it.)

CRAWFORD  
The killer! He's getting away!

(CRAWFORD charges to the door, turns the knob and pulls it to open the door— the door swings into the office— and CRAWFORD exits.)

MURDOCH (indicating that CRABTREE follow CRAWFORD)  
George!

(With no further prompting, CRABTREE races to the door through which CRAWFORD had exited.)

MURDOCH (lifting his lapel, showing his badge to the others)  
Detective William Murdoch, Toronto Constabulary!

(CRABTREE rushes through the door, and as it closes behind him, he hears MURDOCH issuing instructions.)

MURDOCH'S VOICE  
Everyone: Stay where you are, do not touch anything!

(The door closes behind CRABTREE, who finds himself in the hallway. As the door closes, the hallway becomes much darker, and as he pulls the door closed completely, there is a soft, almost unnoticeable, sound of a lock latch engaging [SFX]. CRAWFORD is in the hallway, toward the main room, looking about, then shaking his head and gesturing that he sees no one. CRAWFORD seems to be mostly in silhouette. CRAWFORD suddenly charges toward CRABTREE and the front door.)

CRAWFORD (passing CRABTREE)  
He must have escaped through the front door! Come on!

(CRAWFORD exits through the front door, and CRABTREE— still unsure what to make of CRAWFORD— follows. When he gets outside, CRABTREE sees WHITBY still standing at the front gate.)

CRABTREE  
You! At the gate!

(WHITBY turns toward CRABTREE, and CRAWFORD stops in his tracks momentarily, to see what CRABTREE is doing.)

WHITBY  
Yes, sir?

CRABTREE  
Has anyone exited through that gate in the past minute?

WHITBY (puzzled)  
No, sir.

CRABTREE  
Do not let anyone pass through that gate, but when the police arrive, show them in!

WHITBY (stunned)  
Yes, sir.

(CRABTREE and CRAWFORD hurry around the perimeter of the house. They see no one. CRABTREE keeps his eye on CRAWFORD the whole time, but CRAWFORD makes no move to escape. Instead, CRAWFORD seems determined to capture the elusive perpetrator. CRABTREE sees a back door and sees it securely bolted and locked. CRABTREE scans the ground for footprints, but sees none, other than those made by himself and CRAWFORD. As CRABTREE and CRAWFORD near the veranda, CRAWFORD approaches a section of the wall around the house.)

CRAWFORD  
He might've climbed the wall.

CRABTREE (noticing that CRAWFORD leaves footprints)  
There's soft ground near the wall. Have you seen anyone else's footprints near the wall?

CRAWFORD (coming closer to the house and away from the wall)  
No.

CRABTREE  
Neither have I. And there seems to be no other gate.

(CRABTREE and CRAWFORD complete their run around the house and find themselves back near the front door. They see WHITBY standing formidably at the front gate. Near WHITBY, outside the gate, are some curious passers-by.)

CRABTREE  
You at the gate! Did you see anyone out here?

WHITBY (shakes his head)  
Just the two of you gentlemen.

CRAWFORD  
I didn't see any footprints out here at all.

CRABTREE  
Neither did I, except for the ones that we made ourselves, Mister—

CRAWFORD  
Crawford.

CRABTREE  
Mr. Crawford. My name is Constable George Crabtree of the Toronto Constabulary.

CRAWFORD  
Con— Constable? You're a POLICEMAN?

CRABTREE  
Yes. Let's wait inside.

(CRABTREE and CRAWFORD enter the house through the front door. CRABTREE tries to enter the office through the door he recently passed through, but finds it locked.)

CRABTREE (quietly)  
Locked.

(CRABTREE and CRAWFORD proceed down the hall, through the main room and dining room toward the office; they see BRIGGS completing a phone call and entering the office.)

BRIGGS'S VOICE  
I've summoned the police.

CRAWFORD  
Constable: If the killer didn't escape from the house, wouldn't that mean—

CRABTREE  
It may mean that the person who committed the crime is in the house.

(CRABTREE and CRAWFORD enter the office. Everyone else is there. MURDOCH stands in the centre, with his notebook in one hand and his pencil in the other.)

CRABTREE (to MURDOCH)  
Sir: we saw no one.

(CRAWFORD realizes that MURDOCH is probably a policeman as well.)

CRABTREE  
There is no sign that anyone has left the property.

MURDOCH  
The man at the gate?

CRABTREE  
He was at his post. He saw no one and he also says no one has passed through the gate; and he will not let anyone pass until the police arrive.

MURDOCH  
Good; they should arrive shortly. They will want to search the rest of the house. Mr. Briggs tells me that the door to the upstairs is locked.

BRIGGS (producing a keyring of keys from his pocket)  
It is. But I'll unlock it for them. (Pockets the keys.)

MURDOCH (facing CRAWFORD)  
You must be Mr. Crawford.

CRAWFORD (Cautious)  
Yes. You, another policeman? How did you know my—

BRIGGS  
I told Detective Murdoch who you are.

MURDOCH  
If you please, would you tell me, sir, where you were when the lady screamed?

(CRAWFORD looks around the room at the others. MURDOCH glances briefly at the others, to see what CRAWFORD is looking at, then stares back at CRAWFORD. Mr. & Mrs. OLIVER and SMITHSON scowl at CRAWFORD, and BRIGGS rubs his left forearm while staring accusingly at CRAWFORD. ROSS stands slack-jawed. Some avert their gazes or try to avoid looking CRAWFORD in the face.)

CRAWFORD (Gesturing, nervously)  
I— I was in the drawing room.

(MURDOCH looks at the other guests. All remain silent. Most lower their eyes but some can be seen shaking their heads slightly. No one speaks up in CRAWFORD's defence.)

MURDOCH  
Mr. Crawford, you are under arrest for the murder of Archibald Tate.

(CRAWFORD stands stunned, but does not lower his head. CRABTREE moves in to seize CRAWFORD, but CRAWFORD stands there, seemingly shocked. FADE OUT.)


	2. ACT 2

ACT II

(FADE IN. Station House No. 4. BRACKENREID and MURDOCH are standing outside the interrogation room, as a burly CONSTABLE escorts CRAWFORD out of the interrogation room, presumably to a jail cell. CRAWFORD goes meekly.)

BRACKENREID (nodding in the direction of CRAWFORD)  
What's his motive?

MURDOCH  
Mr. Crawford owed a considerable amount of money to Mr. Tate.

BRACKENREID  
Like every other guest at that little "party," as I understand. Some of them even owed more money than Crawford did.

MURDOCH  
Yes. Mr. Tate was pressuring Mr. Crawford to pay his debt.

BRACKENREID  
Again, Tate was doing the same to every other so-called guest. Isn't that wonderful? If Crawford has a motive to kill Tate because of his debt, then everyone in the bloody house has the same bloody motive! (Sighs.) Does Crawford have a history of violence?

MURDOCH  
No. He's previously been convicted of burglary, but his record shows no violent crimes.

BRACKENREID  
Did anyone see Crawford shoot Tate?

MURDOCH  
No.

BRACKENREID  
Anyone see him WITH Tate?

MURDOCH  
Three of the guests— Mrs. West, Mr. Smithson and Mr. Pascal— saw Mr. Tate in his office shortly before his death. But none of them saw Mr. Crawford with Mr. Tate.

BRACKENREID  
Anyone see Crawford enter the office where Tate was?

MURDOCH  
No.

BRACKENREID  
Did anyone see him flee from the scene of the crime?

MURDOCH  
Uh, no.

BRACKENREID  
Was the firearm HIS firearm?

MURDOCH  
I don't believe so. It may have been stolen.

BRACKENREID  
Were his finger marks on the firearm?

MURDOCH  
No. The handle and trigger had been wrapped with fabric, apparently to prevent finger marks from being retained.

BRACKENREID  
Then you'd better tell me again, Murdoch, why Crawford is our man.

MURDOCH  
He had no alibi.

BRACKENREID  
He thinks he did. You and Crabtree saw him in the library just before all hell broke loose, yes? You saw him go into the drawing room, and he says he was in the drawing room at the time of the scream. We don't have a single witness who can say he's lying about where he was.

MURDOCH  
Sir, neither do we have any witness who can support him! His alibi is the only one for which there is no corroboration. While George and Mr. Crawford were outside searching the grounds, I asked each of the other guests where they were when Mrs. West screamed. Every other guest— every single one!—could say where he or she was; and every other guest— every single one!— had at least two other guests corroborating their stories. The only one whose whereabouts was unknown was Mr. Crawford.

BRACKENREID  
How'd he get into the office to commit the crime?

MURDOCH  
There was a hallway entrance. After George and I saw Mr. Crawford leave the library, he had enough time to proceed down the hallway and enter the office through that door—

BRACKENREID  
But that door was locked on that side, wasn't it?

MURDOCH (cautiously)  
Yes.

BRACKENREID  
Tate was at his desk; and that hallway door would be right in front of Tate's desk, yes?

MURDOCH  
Yes.

BRACKENREID  
Not a very good way to sneak in, then. Did anybody see Crawford use that hallway door?

MURDOCH  
No.

BRACKENREID  
Did he have a key to that door?

MURDOCH  
He had no keys at all.

BRACKENREID (with a wave)  
It sounds to me like Crawford could have been in the drawing room, just like he said.

MURDOCH  
Sir, the killer HAD to be someone in the house. We KNOW no one else came onto the property and we KNOW no one left! Except for Mr. Crawford, every person in the house, including George and me, has a corroborated alibi.

BRACKENREID (harrumphing, switching gears)  
This Tate: I understand he was quite a bully and a bastard. He made his living by making "business deals," as he called them, that amount to loans with high interest rates. The way he operated, it wasn't exactly an illegal business, but it was dirty as all hell. Right now, dozens of people in the Toronto area owe him thousands of dollars. That makes for lots of enemies, Murdoch.

MURDOCH  
Yes.

BRACKENREID  
You said Tate received a threatening note this morning?

MURDOCH  
Yes, and there were three previous threatening notes. Mr. Briggs— Mr. Tate's assistant— understandably feared for Mr. Tate's safety, which is why he asked George and me to be present at this gathering.

BRACKENREID  
Can we prove that Crawford wrote those notes?

MURDOCH  
George is looking into that now. But I suspect the answer is no.

BRACKENREID (sighing)  
It's pretty thin, Murdoch. Circumstantial.

MURDOCH (grudgingly, and not with much confidence)  
Archibald Tate is dead and someone in that house killed him. We can eliminate everyone else as suspects, but not Mr. Crawford.

(CRABTREE enters, carrying some sheets of paper. MURDOCH and BRACKENREID turn to face CRABTREE.)

CRABTREE (to MURDOCH)  
Sir, I have completed the analysis of the threatening notes. I'm afraid there is not much to go on. We cannot match the handwriting to Mr. Crawford, or to anyone else, for that matter. The paper, ink and envelopes are of a kind that is widely available.

BRACKENREID  
Untraceable, then. How about the pillow that was used to stifle the shot?

CRABTREE  
Also untraceable, sir. And as for the murder weapon itself—

BRACKENREID  
Untraceable?

(CRABTREE nods. MURDOCH and BRACKENREID exchange glances. BRACKENREID offers a small shrug. CRABTREE glances over their shoulders and sees BRIGGS arriving at the Station House No. 4.)

MURDOCH (to CRABTREE)  
The interrogation of Mr. Crawford ended a few minutes ago. He admits that he was angry at Mr. Tate; he admits he owed him a considerable sum of money; and he admits he was penniless and even desperate; but he adamantly denies being the killer and steadfastly maintains that he was in the drawing room at the time of the murder. Except for Mr. Briggs, we now have statements from all of the witnesses.

CRABTREE  
And I noticed Mr. Briggs has just arrived.

(MURDOCH is pleased with the timing of the arrival. Cut to interior of interrogation room. BRIGGS is in the hot seat while MURDOCH and CRABTREE stand beside the table. BRIGGS is nodding.)

BRIGGS  
Yes, I would say that every person there held an intense dislike toward my employer. Some had never met him, but I'm pretty sure they all hated him. They all owed him large amounts of money and he was threatening to— (choosing his words carefully) to take strong— but legal!— steps to induce payment. If you were to say that every single person there had a motive to kill Mr. Tate, I don't think I could disagree with you.

MURDOCH (slightly smirking)  
Does that include yourself?

BRIGGS (laughing, possibly nervous)  
Yes, I suppose it does! (More serious) I was trustee and beneficiary on many of his business ventures, and I now stand to benefit financially. Add to that, I didn't care much for Mr. Tate and thought he was a horrible boss.

MURDOCH (smiling insincerely)  
You seem to be incriminating yourself, Mr. Briggs.

BRIGGS  
Not at all! Everything I just told you, you would have found out sooner or later. I'm trying to be honest with you. I will benefit from Mr. Tate's death, yes; but I did not kill him. And you KNOW it. You saw me, you KNOW I was not with him when he was shot.

MURDOCH  
Actually, we did not see you at the time Mrs. West screamed. But at least four other witnesses did.

BRIGGS  
All right, then. I have a solid alibi.

MURDOCH  
Tell us why all these other people, all of whom had an intense animosity toward your employer, happened to be in the house at the same time?

BRIGGS (laughs again)  
First, gentlemen, Mr. Tate certainly had FAR more enemies than the people who were in the house that day. (Suddenly serious again.) Mr. Tate invited these particular people to offer them a business proposition.

MURDOCH  
Yes, that is what we understood; the other guests all told us of an invitation from you saying that Mr. Tate had a "business proposition" for several special guests, which included them, and it would be in their interest to be at the house at the appointed day and time. But they never learned exactly what that "business proposition" was. And neither have we.

BRIGGS  
It was a business proposition by which they could discharge their debts to Mr. Tate.

CRABTREE  
How so?

BRIGGS  
Essentially Mr. Tate's plan was that he needed a new addition on one of his warehouses, and the idea was that these, uh, debtors would help build this new addition for him. At drastically reduced pay or no pay at all. Mr. Tate selected these debtors because of their abilities. Mr. Pascal, for example, is an architectural draftsman, and could design the new addition. Mr. Lawrence could be a bookkeeper on the project. Mr. Oliver is in the construction business, and—

MURDOCH  
That was why they were there? To be offered a chance to discharge their debts, in exchange for various services?

BRIGGS  
Well, yes. Mr. Tate thought that getting all of them there at one time would convince them that his proposal for discharging their debts was genuine.

MURDOCH (carefully)  
We searched Mr. Tate's office. We found many pieces of correspondence on his desk, but no documents about any such "business proposition."

BRIGGS  
If you knew Mr. Tate, you'd know he wouldn't put anything in writing until the deal was assured. (BRIGGS sees MURDOCH looking skeptical.) Mr. Tate used a similar plan last year, to build a cottage down by Lake Ontario. (Seeing MURDOCH and CRABTREE exchange looks.) There's nothing illegal about it!

CRABTREE (upon a glance from MURDOCH)  
I'll see whether I can find out about that cottage.

BRIGGS  
I'll give you the names of the people who worked on it, if you like.

MURDOCH (changing the subject)  
The door from the hallway to Mr. Tate's office: is it always locked?

BRIGGS  
Yes. That is, it is always locked from the hallway side, but it can be opened from the office side.

MURDOCH  
Was the hallway side locked before Mr. Tate was murdered?

BRIGGS  
I assume so, it always is. I didn't check.

MURDOCH  
Do you have a key to that door?

BRIGGS (getting nervous)  
Yes.

MURDOCH  
Did you use your key that day?

BRIGGS (suspicious, more nervous)  
No. No, I did not go in through that door! You saw me, those other witnesses saw me, saw where I was when the crime was committed!

MURDOCH  
Did you give your key to anyone?

BRIGGS  
Of course not!

(BRIGGS is clearly offended by the line of questioning, which he perceives as accusatory. MURDOCH backs off and rubs his chin. CUT TO THE MORGUE. OGDEN is cleaning up as MURDOCH and CRABTREE enter. In the background, a covered body is being wheeled away.)

OGDEN  
Ah, William, I was just about to go to your office.

MURDOCH  
You've finished your postmortem?

OGDEN  
Yes. The victim was shot in the back of the head at close range. The shot was fired through a small pillow. Penetration of the bullet was not very deep but the trauma indicates the victim died almost immediately.

MURDOCH  
Time of death?

OGDEN  
Consistent with the time you arrived.

MURDOCH  
Could the murder have been committed a few minutes before we arrived, or a few minutes after?

(CRABTREE is surprised by this question but says nothing.)

OGDEN  
Yes; I cannot fix time of death to the exact minute.

MURDOCH  
Can you estimate the height of the killer, based upon the angle of bullet entry?

OGDEN  
No. For one thing, I cannot be certain about the position of the victim's head at the time the shot was fired. The killer could be almost any height. Any of the guests could have fired the shot.

MURDOCH  
Even the diminutive Mrs. West?

CRABTREE (surprised that MURDOCH would ask)  
It is unlikely Mrs. West could be the killer. It's true that she saw Mr. Tate shortly before we arrived, but she saw him in the presence of another witness, Mr. Pascal. And Mr. Smithson saw Mr. Tate alive after that.

MURDOCH  
George, we've assumed that only one person in the house lacked a corroborated alibi. Perhaps we ought to reconsider whether the other guests' alibis can withstand scrutiny.

CRABTREE  
Sir?

MURDOCH  
Well, haven't you wondered why the killer fired the fatal shot through a pillow? Why not simply shoot Tate?

CRABTREE  
I assume that the killer was trying to soften the sound of the shot, so that it would not be heard in the other rooms.

MURDOCH  
All right, but what if the killer were unsure that the pillow alone would cover the noise of the shot? What else might the killer do?

CRABTREE (getting it)  
The killer might make a loud sound to mask the noise. Like a scream. And Mrs. West screamed. Sir: you think Mrs. West, on the pretense of investigating some sort of noise, entered the office and shot Mr. Tate, while screaming to cover the sound of the gunshot?

MURDOCH  
If the killer were Mrs. West, she'd need to enter the room, take out a weapon and pillow concealed on her person, cover the barrel of the pistol with the pillow, cock the pistol, and— while screaming— shoot. How much time would that take?

(CRABTREE pantomimes the scenario. CRABTREE moves quickly but deliberately.)

CRABTREE  
Five seconds, thereabout.

MURDOCH  
At least. George, we need to talk to Mr. Tate's guests again.

(FADE OUT.)


	3. ACT 3

ACT III

(FADE IN. Station House No. 4, interrogation room. WEST is in the chair, questioned by MURDOCH, who takes notes from time to time. CRABTREE listens and takes notes as well.)

WEST  
The man with the big moustache and me, we just decided to say hello to Mr. Tate, and so we knocked and then opened the door of his office to say hello. And all he said was, "Wait outside!" A bit brusque. So I went to the kitchen to take a look around. I told you all this the first time you questioned me, you know!

MURDOCH  
The door you opened was the one leading from the dining room to the office?

WEST (nodding)  
Yuh.

MURDOCH  
Even though you had been told to remain outside the office, a few minutes later, you went into the office again?

WEST  
I told you about that already. I heard this noise, like somebody dropped a book or something, and so I knocked and opened the door and went into the office. Mr. Tate's head was down on his desk. Then I saw the blood, and I screamed.

MURDOCH  
You opened the door, went into the office, closed the door, and noticed the blood—

WEST  
I didn't close no door! Who told you that?

(MURDOCH is momentarily speechless. CUT TO same interrogation room, LAWRENCE in the chair.)

LAWRENCE  
That short lady and me, we heard this odd noise, I thought it was maybe a door slamming, and we looked at each other and then she went into the office to see if anything was wrong. She screamed right then.

MURDOCH  
Did you hear anything while she was screaming?

LAWRENCE  
No.

MURDOCH  
Was the door to the office open or closed when she screamed?

LAWRENCE  
Open. All the way open.

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE exchange quick glances.)

MURDOCH  
Could you see Mrs. West in the office?

LAWRENCE  
Could have seen her if I'd been looking. I was looking at the other folks. We were all wondering what that noise was.

MURDOCH  
How many seconds had gone by between the time that Mrs. West went into the office and the time that she screamed?

LAWRENCE (without thinking)  
Five seconds, I suppose.

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE glance at one another and nod; the time fits. But just to be sure—)

MURDOCH  
Mrs. West goes into the office, and— (MURDOCH taps five times on the table) —and she screams?

LAWRENCE  
Uh. I think I'd better correct myself. It was more like two seconds. Maybe even a little less.

(MURDOCH lifts his eyebrows.)

MURDOCH  
This is important, Mr. Lawrence. Five seconds? Two seconds?

LAWRENCE (rolling his eyes as he remembers the events)  
She goes into the office (LAWRENCE swings his finger twice) and she screams. Two seconds.

CRABTREE (quietly to MURDOCH)  
Not enough time.

LAWRENCE (catching on)  
Not enough—? You actually suspected that nice little lady killed that guy? Anybody could see that she couldn't have done it. And if you're trying to undermine MY alibi, remember that that older couple saw me all the time, it wasn't just that lady that saw me!

(MURDOCH's expression shows that he can't argue. CUT TO same interrogation room, PASCAL in the chair.)

PASCAL  
Yeah, that lady and I decided to say hello to Tate. The door was unlocked, so—

MURDOCH  
You mean the door from the dining room to the office?

PASCAL  
Yes, uh-huh. Anyway, Tate told us to get out of the office. So we got out. Mister, uh, I don't know the man's name, the tall man—

MURDOCH  
Smithson.

PASCAL  
Mr. Smithson, he went into the office after we did, and we hear Tate get angry—

MURDOCH  
What did Mr. Tate say?

PASCAL  
I don't know, but he sounded irritated. Anyway, Smithson came right back out, looking like he'd just been insulted. Maybe a couple of minutes later, I heard a loud "PUND!" and wondered what it was. That short woman went into the office to check it out, and she started yelling, and everybody came running.

MURDOCH  
Was there any other noise while the woman screamed?

PASCAL  
Not that I remember. Like what?

MURDOCH (ignoring the question put to him)  
Was there a noise of any kind when Mr. Smithson was in the office?

PASCAL  
Other than Tate's grousing? None.

MURDOCH  
But there was a noise, later, and Mrs. West went into the office to investigate that noise.

PASCAL  
I assume so. Heard her knock on the door as she opened it, then almost immediately, the lady started to scream.

MURDOCH (repeating)  
Almost immediately.

(PASCAL nods. MURDOCH purses his lips. CUT TO same interrogation room, MR. OLIVER and MRS. OLIVER in the chairs.)

MR. OLIVER  
I didn't hear anything except when that woman started shrieking.

MRS. OLIVER  
Neither did I. Except for some noise, don't know what it was, just before she screamed. By the way, Detective, you still know that we're innocent, am I correct?

MURDOCH  
It would seem that your alibi is supported by several witnesses.

(Mr. and Mrs. OLIVER look at each other and seem satisfied with this. CUT TO same interrogation room, SMITHSON in the chair.)

SMITHSON  
Yeah, I heard a "TUNG!" noise, like I told you before, and yeah, I had no idea what it was. Then the yelling started. (nervously) Listen, Detective, I'm not a suspect here, am I? I mean, I didn't like Tate, but YOU and your partner saw me when things, uh, happened, right?

MURDOCH  
We saw you. So did some of the other guests.

SMITHSON  
Right! Right! So I couldn't've done it, that's all I'm saying. It's not just my word. It's others who're saying I didn't do it, right?

(MURDOCH gives a very slight nod but says nothing. CUT TO same interrogation room, ROSS in the chair. His left hand is still bandaged. ROSS's attire and manner suggest he is low class. CRABTREE is in the interrogation room with MURDOCH.)

ROSS  
Like I told you before. I didn't hear nothing. I was in the washroom. I was just finishing when I heard the screaming and shouting. There's people that say I was in the washroom, aren't there?

MURDOCH  
Yes. Mr. Pascal saw you go in; Mr. Lawrence didn't actually see you go into the washroom, but he said that the washroom seemed to be occupied. He wanted to use it when you were done.

ROSS  
Well, then, you KNOW it wasn't me.

MURDOCH  
How did you hurt your hand?

ROSS (thinks, then decides to answer honestly)  
In jail. You ask as if you didn't know.

MURDOCH  
I didn't know.

ROSS  
Markham jailer slammed the door on it a couple o' days ago, (under his breath) the stupid bastard! Still hurts like the devil.

CRABTREE  
I'll call Markham to verify that.

ROSS (accusingly)  
Jail, that's why you're giving me a hard time, that's why you think I did it, because I owed that guy a lot of money and because I've spent time in jail.

MURDOCH  
No.

ROSS  
Two witnesses! Two witnesses said I didn't do it! You can't lay the blame on me!

(ROSS is defiant. MURDOCH backs off, as if conceding the validity of ROSS's argument. CUT TO same interrogation room, CRAWFORD in the chair. CRABTREE is in the interrogation room as well.)

CRAWFORD  
All I heard was a scream, and I went to see what it was all about.

MURDOCH  
Then you left the scene.

CRAWFORD  
No! I mean, I was chasing the guy who'd done it! Look, I didn't know you and that other fellow were policemen; if I had, I would have let YOU chase the killer. And ask your constable, he'll tell you: I didn't try to jump over the wall or run through the gate! I didn't try to escape!

(CRABTREE looks at MURDOCH as if to say that what CRAWFORD has just said is true.)

CRAWFORD (sadly but firmly, seeing MURDOCH'S steely expression)  
You all think I'm guilty, don't you? Just because I owed Mr. Tate money and because I've had past trouble with the law.

MURDOCH  
No.

CRAWFORD  
Well, then you think I'm guilty just because nobody saw me at the time this killing happened. (He hangs his head.) Bad luck, I guess. People were milling all about, and I just happened to be in a place where nobody could see me.

(MURDOCH blinks. Something has occurred to him. CUT TO: MURDOCH'S office. A drawing of the floorplan of the house is on the blackboard. Rooms or regions are labelled "OFFICE," "DINING ROOM," "KITCHEN," "WC," "HALL," "MAIN ROOM," "VERANDA," "DRAWING ROOM," "LIBRARY." The doorway between office and hall is marked "LOCKED," as is the doorway to the stairs. The doorway between hallway and drawing room is ajar. There are circled letters in various places on the diagram, "T" in the office, "W" and "L" near the dining room and kitchen, "R" in the WC, "P" and "B" in the main room, "O" in a corner of the main room, "S" in an opposite corner of the main room near the veranda, "M" and "C" in the library. In the drawing room is a question mark representing Crawford. MURDOCH, CRABTREE and BRACKENREID are looking at the blackboard. As MURDOCH talks, he indicates the lines of sight of the people in question.)

MURDOCH  
These are the approximate positions of everyone at the time a loud noise was heard. All of the doors were wide open, except for those marked "locked," and the door between the dining room and office, which was closed but not locked. This door to the drawing room (indicating) was ajar. As you can see at a glance, there is no single person who can see all of the other guests, so I have compared the witnesses' statements to estimate people's locations. None of the guests knew the other guests, and didn't watch their movements closely; nevertheless, the witnesses' stories are fairly consistent, and they generally confirm each other's locations. Some of the people, notably Mrs. West, Mr. Briggs and Mr. Pascal, were moving about quite a bit and there was some disagreement as to their exact locations, but the disagreements do not appear to be significant. Mr. Ross is in the washroom. George and I could not see anyone except Mr. Smithson, and he could see us. No one is in a position to see whether Mr. Crawford is in the drawing room, as he says he was.

BRACKENREID  
Where's the bloke who was by the gate? Was he accounted for?

MURDOCH  
Ah, Mr. Whitby, yes, neighbours and other witnesses all place him outside the gate at all times, so I have not included Mr. Whitby on this diagram.

BRACKENREID  
As you've said, Whitby made sure no one entered the house except the guests, and no one escaped. Is his story solid?

MURDOCH  
I think so, the physical evidence supports it.

BRACKENREID  
So the killer had to be somebody in the house. And everyone in the house has a corroborated alibi. (Pointing at the question mark on the map.) Except Crawford.

MURDOCH  
Sir, I'm beginning to wonder whether Mr. Crawford's alibi may be better than I had first thought.

BRACKENREID (skeptical)  
Someone now says they saw him?

MURDOCH  
No. It's— it's a little hard to explain. (Takes a breath.) The people in the house were allowed to be in the main room, the library, the veranda, wherever they wished. When George and I arrived, people were indeed wandering about.

BRACKENREID  
So?

MURDOCH  
This was a premeditated murder. We KNOW that the killer went to Mr. Tate's home with the intention of killing him, because the murder weapon had been specially prepared in advance to prevent recovery of finger marks. But if this was a planned murder, there is a practical difficulty: there are many potential witnesses, and there was no way for the murderer to know in advance where in the house any particular person would be at any particular time.

BRACKENREID  
That's not a difficulty. The murderer simply waited for an opportune time to strike. He waited until no one was looking.

MURDOCH  
Yes, but there's more to it than that. Not only must the murderer look for an opportunity to commit the crime, but the murderer would want to have an alibi. The murderer would want to say that he was not in the office at the time of the murder, but was someplace else.

(BRACKENREID is slow on the uptake, but CRABTREE seems to be getting it.)

MURDOCH  
Even if the killer knew where people were when he entered the office to commit the crime, the killer could not assume that everyone would simply stay where they were, even for the next few seconds, while he committed the crime. Now, Mr. Crawford said he was in the drawing room. If he was actually in the office killing Mr. Tate, how did Mr. Crawford know that there would be no witnesses in the drawing room to contradict his alibi?

CRABTREE  
Crawford's alibi isn't supported by the other witnesses. But neither do the other witnesses say that Crawford is lying!

MURDOCH  
Exactly, George! (To BRACKENREID) Sir, you pointed this out yourself: No witnesses have said that Mr. Crawford's alibi is untruthful. Also highly significant is this: After the murder had been discovered, while George and Mr. Crawford were circling the grounds, I asked every other witness about his or her whereabouts and whether anyone could corroborate each witness's story. Mr. Crawford was outdoors and heard none of that! There was NO WAY he could have known where everyone else was.

BRACKENREID (shaking his head)  
I'm not following this at all.

MURDOCH  
Sir, think of it this way. After George and Mr. Crawford returned, I asked Mr. Crawford where HE was at the time of the scream. Suppose he had said, "The washroom." Well, we would know that that alibi is a lie, because Mr. Ross was in the washroom, and Mr. Pascal verified it. Or suppose Mr. Crawford had said, "I was in the kitchen." We would know that that was a lie, because other witnesses could see every corner of the kitchen. Or suppose Mr. Crawford had said, "I was on the veranda." We would know that alibi was a lie.

BRACKENREID (catching on, pointing to the blackboard)  
Because Smithson could see part of the veranda, and the Olivers could see part of it as well.

MURDOCH  
Mr. Crawford, wherever he was, had no way of knowing where any of the other people would be. They WERE here (indicating the blackboard) at the time of the scream, but they COULD have been anywhere. Yet when asked where he was, Mr. Crawford named perhaps the only room in the house where he possibly could have been, and no one could call his alibi a lie. If he were the killer, how could he know that the drawing room would be his best alibi?

BRACKENREID  
Maybe he made a lucky guess?

MURDOCH  
It would have been a very lucky guess, and a rather RISKY guess. Not only were people wandering all around the house, the drawing room was where Mr. Tate was going to address his guests in a matter of minutes, so it might be expected that people would begin congregating there, awaiting Mr. Tate's arrival.

BRACKENREID (after a pause)  
So you're saying that Crawford really might be telling the truth. He really WAS in the drawing room after all. (BRACKENREID rolls his eyes.) We have no evidence placing him in the office or pulling the trigger, and now you're saying that we have no evidence that his alibi is a fraud. I'm beginning to wonder whether we even have enough evidence to hold Crawford at all!

MURDOCH (reluctantly)  
Our case against him is weak.

BRACKENREID  
Weak? We have no case against him at all that I can see. We'll have to release him. And your investigation, it seems to me, is back to square one!

(MURDOCH purses his lips. FADE OUT.)


	4. ACT 4

ACT IV

(FADE IN. Inside the house, in the office. The office is as it was on the day of the murder, but without the body and without any overt signs of blood or that any crime had occurred there. The office doors are closed. A large box of sand rests on the desk. There are some grains of sand that seem to have splashed out of the box onto the desk, and the surface of the sand seems to have been disturbed. CRABTREE holds a gun against a pillow. CRABTREE fires a shot through the pillow into the box of sand. The shot disturbs the sand and some sand is ejected from the box. The gunshot noise [SFX] is loud, but not as loud as an unmuffled shot.)

MURDOCH'S VOICE (yelling, offscreen)  
Again, George! But this time—

CRABTREE (yelling in answer)  
Understood, sir!

(CRABTREE cocks the pistol, holds it against the pillow, and aims at the box.)

CRABTREE (screaming loudly like a woman)  
Yaaaah!

(While screaming, CRABTREE fires a shot through the pillow into the box of sand. Again, the shot disturbs the sand and some sand is ejected from the box. The gunshot noise [SFX] is heard over the scream. Moments later, MURDOCH and BRIGGS, after opening the door, enter the office from the dining room.)

BRIGGS  
I heard both of those shots as well, in the kitchen.

MURDOCH  
And I heard them both, in the library. Screaming did not drown out the second shot. The noise of the first shot sounded to me almost exactly like the noise we heard: moderately loud that it would attract attention, but not immediately recognizable as a gunshot. (Sighs.) I'm afraid that I must abandon two of my theories.

BRIGGS (interested)  
Which were, may I ask—?

MURDOCH  
In one scenario, the shooting took place before George and I arrived. Some of the guests had seen Mr. Tate in this office before we arrived. I wondered whether someone, Mr. Smithson, say, might have shot Mr. Tate, at a time earlier than we had thought.

CRABTREE  
If that had happened, the guests would have heard that loud sound earlier than they actually did.

MURDOCH  
Yes, or they would have reported hearing two noises, one being the real shot that killed Tate, and a later noise being some sort of false gunshot. Of course no one remembered two such noises, and it makes no sense that people would investigate the second strange noise but ignore the first.

BRIGGS  
And your other theory?

MURDOCH  
That the noise we thought was a shot was not really a shot, and that Mrs. West actually shot Mr. Tate when she, er, discovered his body.

BRIGGS (getting it)  
And screamed to cover the noise of the actual shot. Clever.

MURDOCH  
Except: if that first noise that drew everyone's attention was not a shot, what was it? Also, as we just demonstrated, if Mrs. West had fired a shot while screaming, screaming would not cover the gunshot noise. So once again, that would mean there would be two distinct noises, which no witness reported hearing. We know that the use of the pillow softened the noise of the shot, but did not silence it.

BRIGGS  
The pillow made it just so the shot couldn't be immediately identified for what it was.

MURDOCH  
Yes. It seems clear from this evidence that there was only one noise, and the noise we heard was that of Mr. Tate actually being shot.

BRIGGS (wryly)  
Well, I guess my alibi continues to be quite solid, then.

MURDOCH  
Hmm.

BRIGGS  
Oh, did you check into what I said about the cottage on Lake Ontario?

CRABTREE (uncomfortably)  
Yes, I did. It seems that Mr. Tate had a rather nice cottage built for himself. The people who built it are somewhat upset; apparently nobody was paid a cent for any of the work.

BRIGGS  
No, that's not true! Mr. Tate discharged their debts to him, nearly four hundred dollars' worth!

CRABTREE (mumbling)  
And in return he got a cottage worth at least twice that.

MURDOCH  
Mr. Briggs, this door (indicating the door to the hallway), you say it is always locked?

BRIGGS  
From the hallway side, yes, but you can open it from this side.

(MURDOCH pulls open the door from the office side. MURDOCH tests the knob from the hallway side. The door is locked, the knob will not turn.)

MURDOCH (playing with the lock, but not unlocking it)  
How many keys are there?

BRIGGS  
Just mine and Mr. Tate's.

MURDOCH  
May I use your key, please?

(BRIGGS extracts a keyring holding five keys and swings one unusually-shaped key up from the set, then hands the set to MURDOCH. MURDOCH uses the key to unlock the mechanism from the hallway side. The lock is a bit stubborn, but eventually opens with a soft "clack" [SFX]. MURDOCH re-locks the door, and again the lock is stubborn, there is a much louder and somewhat different-sounding "clack" [SFX], startling MURDOCH. MURDOCH hastily examines the other keys on the keyring; they are all different lengths from the hallway key and obviously would not fit the lock.)

BRIGGS (warily)  
You think the killer used MY key?

MURDOCH  
No. (MURDOCH checks the door. From the hallway side, the door is locked. MURDOCH continues to examine the door.) If the killer had used your key, the killer would have to have had some opportunity to return it to you. There was no such opportunity.

CRABTREE (producing a keyring with several keys)  
This is Mr. Tate's set of keys, sir. He had them on his person when he died.

(MURDOCH compares a key received from CRABTREE to the key received from BRIGGS; they look the same. MURDOCH returns the original set of keys to BRIGGS. The keys dangle from BRIGGS's hand. MURDOCH tries the key from CRABTREE; the key opens the lock with a soft "clack" [SFX]. MURDOCH re-locks the door with a louder "clack" [SFX].)

BRIGGS (again wary)  
Do you think Mr. Tate's key was used?

MURDOCH (cocking an eyebrow)  
There would be no reason for Mr. Tate to give a key to anyone, would there, Mr. Briggs?

(BRIGGS seems thrown off-balance by the question, but MURDOCH goes on before BRIGGS can reply.)

MURDOCH (maintaining his focus on BRIGGS)  
To answer your question: no, I do not think anyone used either your key or Mr. Tate's key to enter this door.

(BRIGGS seems relieved, but not completely so. MURDOCH examines the door a bit more, and is puzzled. CRABTREE motions to BRIGGS, to ask BRIGGS whether CRABTREE can see the keys dangling from BRIGGS's hand. While BRIGGS is engaged with CRABTREE, MURDOCH closes the door, but he has to give it a bit of a shove to get the lock to engage with a soft click [SFX]. CUT TO: A TEA ROOM, where MURDOCH and OGDEN are seated, enjoying cups of tea.)

OGDEN  
William, try to relax.

MURDOCH  
I am. Trying. To relax.

OGDEN (Coyly)  
Shall I solve this case for you?

MURDOCH (Off guard)  
I—

OGDEN  
From what you've told me, there seems to be a clear solution. (Pause.) They're all lying. They're all in it together. Every one of them hated this man Tate and so they all decided to kill him and to give each other alibis. Think about it: How many of the guests did you and George actually see at the time of the shot?

MURDOCH  
Just one. Mr. Smithson.

OGDEN  
So the only person whom you know for certain did not shoot Tate is Smithson. Smithson could have been given the job of keeping an eye on you and George, or distracting you and George, while one of the others—

(OGDEN feels no need to explain her theory any further.)

MURDOCH (mildly impressed)  
It's an intriguing theory. But it would assume a carefully planned conspiracy involving up to nine people. Unfortunately, we have evidence that these people were all essentially strangers to one another, and we have no evidence that these people all got together to plan anything before that day. And if the plan was to give everybody an alibi, why didn't they explicitly vouch for Mr. Crawford, the way they did for the others? There's also the question of how they could have known in advance—

OGDEN (seeing her theory has difficulties)  
Never mind. Never mind.

MURDOCH (smiling)  
It IS an interesting theory, Julia; but— for one thing— it's too complex. The larger a conspiracy, the harder it is to keep the conspiracy a secret. Let me offer you a simpler scenario. Besides Mr. Crawford, there was one other person who was unseen at the time of the shooting: Mr. Ross. Now, Mr. Ross says he was in the washroom, and Mr. Pascal says he saw Mr. Ross go into the washroom. But what if Mr. Pascal lied about Mr. Ross's whereabouts, and Mr. Ross actually committed the crime?

(This scenario makes perfect sense to OGDEN. She brightens up.)

OGDEN  
That's brilliant! And that conspiracy requires the participation of only two people, Ross and Pascal, instead of everyone!

MURDOCH  
A conspiracy of two is more likely to be kept secret than is a conspiracy of eight or nine.

OGDEN  
The washroom could have been empty, and Mr. Ross could have been hiding in the office, or maybe he could have entered the office from the dining room without being noticed. He committed the crime, exited out the hallway door, and joined everyone else.

MURDOCH  
Yes. Now, is it a plausible scenario? (Shakes his head.) No. Mr. Ross could not physically have committed the crime. His left hand was seriously injured while he was in jail recently, which a jailer in Markham has confirmed. Mr. Ross's hand was dressed and was almost useless. It seems fairly certain that the killer, whoever he was, needed two good hands: one to hold the pillow, and the other to fire the gun.

OGDEN  
Someone, one or more of them, must be guilty.

MURDOCH  
I ask myself: which? And: how do I prove it?

(Constable HIGGINS enters, sees MURDOCH and rushes up to MURDOCH.)

HIGGINS  
Pardon me, sir, (tips hat to OGDEN), Doctor, (turns back to MURDOCH) but Crawford has been arrested for assault.

(It is surprising news. MURDOCH rises, and hastily puts payment on the table before going with HIGGINS. OGDEN rises as well.)

HIGGINS  
Seems he injured a man rather seriously. Says the other man was trying to rob him, and he acted in self-defence.

MURDOCH  
(To OGDEN) Forgive me, Julia; until tonight. (To HIGGINS) Is Mr. Crawford in our custody?

HIGGINS  
No, Station Two has him.

MURDOCH (More to himself than to HIGGINS)  
Rob him? Did Mr. Crawford somehow come into some money?

(FADE OUT.)


	5. ACT 5

ACT V

(FADE IN. Station House No. 4, MURDOCH's office. The blackboard still has the floor plan drawn on it. MURDOCH stands close to the blackboard, studying it while simultaneously listening to BRACKENREID and CRABTREE converse. BRACKENREID and CRABTREE stand further away.)

BRACKENREID  
I telephoned Freddy Winthorpe. He says that the guy who got sent to hospital, Yates, was a known thug, worked on and off for Joe Werner's gang; and they say our boy, Crawford, did everyone a favour by knocking out Yates's teeth. All Crawford says is that it was self-defence.

(BRACKENREID expects MURDOCH to say something, but MURDOCH stays silent; MURDOCH is listening, but MURDOCH is studying his blackboard at the same time, working out some final details of a scenario in his mind.)

CRABTREE  
Is there any chance Crawford will be released before we have a chance to question him further?

BRACKENREID  
I asked Freddy that very thing, and he said, and I quote, no chance in hell he'll be released today, unquote. But, if we want to question Crawford further, Freddy's boys will bring him over.

(MURDOCH nods, but it is not clear at what MURDOCH nods, since his attention seems divided. Suddenly, MURDOCH straightens up and faces BRACKENREID.)

MURDOCH  
If it was robbery, the robber must have thought Mr. Crawford held some cash. Yet Mr. Crawford told us that he was penniless. How much money did Mr. Crawford have?

BRACKENREID  
Freddy says he didn't have any.

MURDOCH (mildly surprised)  
None?

BRACKENREID  
That's part of the reason why Crawford's in custody. Crawford doesn't look the type to be a good target for a robbery, so it doesn't make sense that Yates would want to rob him, and therefore, it doesn't make sense that Crawford beat Yates in self-defence. At least, that's what Freddy thinks.

MURDOCH  
Make sense? (Dismissing the troubling issue with a wave.) Gentlemen. I want to present to you an explanation for how the murder of Archibald Tate could have been committed. Your questions and criticisms are welcome. I will start by reviewing some things we already know for certain. We know that the killer, whoever he was, had to get into the office somehow.

CRABTREE  
There is only one entrance to the office. From the dining room.

MURDOCH  
There is a second entrance. From the hallway.

BRACKENREID  
Which was locked from the hallway side.

MURDOCH  
So we had assumed. What if that door was NOT locked?

CRABTREE  
Then the killer could have entered at any opportune time.

MURDOCH  
Yes.

BRACKENREID  
So what'd the killer do, Murdoch? Unlock the door with a key? Knock and have Tate let him in?

MURDOCH  
I considered the possibility that a key, Mr. Briggs's or Mr. Tate's or even a duplicate, might have been used; but I deem that very unlikely. Unlocking that door takes time, and the killer would want to enter the office with little delay. Further, a key to the crime scene would be very incriminating evidence for a suspect to be holding; better for the killer not to have a key. No, I suspect that the door was indeed locked, but was left slightly ajar so that it appeared to be closed, but the lock was not engaged with the frame of the door. I tested the door myself to see whether such a thing was possible; it is. (Seeing skepticism on BRACKENREID'S face) For the time being, sir, let's simply assume that the door could be opened from the hallway side without a key, simply by pushing on it. If that assumption is correct, it would follow that the killer must have known, in advance, that the hallway door COULD be opened from the hallway, without a need for a key.

BRACKENREID  
How the bloody hell would he know that?

MURDOCH  
Just bear with me for a moment, sir. In my scenario, a few moments before the shooting, the killer enters the office through the hallway door. As you can see from the diagram (indicates the blackboard), none of these people can see the hallway door clearly.

BRACKENREID (pointing to the drawing room)  
Except maybe Crawford. (light dawns) If he really was in the drawing room, that is. You think Crawford really was our killer after all?

MURDOCH (takes a deep breath)  
Yes.

CRABTREE (shaking his head)  
But—

MURDOCH  
I know, George, you have many unanswered questions. But again, just bear with me for a moment. The killer— Mr. Crawford— enters the dark hallway and pushes on what everyone else thinks is a locked office door. The door opens; he enters the office. He extracts a small pillow and a firearm from somewhere on his person. The firearm has been prepared so that he does not need to worry about his finger marks appearing on the weapon. He goes behind Mr. Tate, aims the gun through the pillow, and shoots him in the back of the head.

BRACKENREID (not buying it)  
Bollocks!

MURDOCH (pressing on, pointing to the blackboard)  
And after he shoots Mr. Tate, he exits the way he came, through the hallway door. Moments later, there's a scream, and everybody runs to the office, including Mr. Crawford. All attention is directed to the office; nobody sees or remembers where Mr. Crawford, or any of the other guests, came from.

CRABTREE  
Once we we're all in the office, it was Crawford who ran through that same door yet again, under the pretense of chasing the killer. If any of his finger marks had been on the door, this could have been used to explain their presence.

MURDOCH  
Correct. Now, while Mr. Crawford and George are out searching the grounds, I ask everyone to tell me where they were, while their memories are fresh. When Mr. Crawford returns, I ask for his alibi, and he gives me one, and by the strangest coincidence, it is perhaps the only alibi he COULD give that places him well away from the scene of the crime, AND that no one can contradict. So in the event Mr. Crawford is charged with murder, he has a very good chance of establishing in front of a jury reasonable doubt of guilt.

BRACKENREID (still not buying it)  
Bollocks! Bordering on bloody impossible. How'd Crawford know the hallway door was unlocked? Did he unlock it himself? If so, how and when? How'd he sneak up to shoot Tate? He'd have to pass right in front of him! What did Tate do, just sit there like a tree stump while some stranger circled around behind him and shot him?

MURDOCH  
Let's take those questions one at a time. How did Mr. Crawford know he could get into the office through the hallway door? The answer is simple. His accomplice told him. His accomplice also arranged it so that the door appeared closed but the lock was not engaged.

CRABTREE  
But the accomplice, who—?

MURDOCH (to BRACKENREID)  
Once Mr. Crawford is in the office, as you say, sir, Mr. Tate would see him at once.

BRACKENREID  
And make a ruckus if he didn't leave! Like he did with West and Pascal— and Smithson!

MURDOCH  
Yes. UNLESS it had already been arranged that that Mr. Crawford's presence was not unwelcome, but actually EXPECTED.

BRACKENREID  
Arranged? Expected?

MURDOCH  
Arranged by the accomplice. The accomplice might have told Mr. Tate any story: perhaps that a courier was going to deliver a new work of art. It doesn't matter. Mr. Crawford enters the office, and Mr. Tate is not alarmed because Mr. Crawford is expected to be there. Mr. Tate returns his attention to his correspondence, and this gives Mr. Crawford an opportunity to get behind Mr. Tate, pull out the gun and pillow, and commit the murder.

BRACKENREID (still skeptical)  
There's a lot riding on that accomplice.

CRABTREE  
Briggs. He has to be the accomplice. He was Mr. Tate's assistant. He had the best opportunity to tell Mr. Tate that there would be an expected visitor that day, and that the visitor would be entering by the hallway door. Briggs could have left the door partly open.

MURDOCH  
I believe you are right, George. The one person in the best position to plan this was Mr. Briggs. That is why about half an hour ago I asked Constable Higgins to bring in Mr. Briggs.

BRACKENREID  
But Crawford's alibi— have we forgotten about that? How'd Crawford know that no one would refute his "I was in the drawing room" story? Don't tell me that Briggs, his accomplice, told him to say that.

MURDOCH  
Mr. Briggs, his accomplice, told him to say that. But it was done in a clever way.

(Flashback to BRIGGS talking to MURDOCH and CRABTREE at the entrance to the house. They speak, then BRIGGS admits them to the house.)

MURDOCH (V.O.)  
Mr. Briggs had planned things carefully. To make his plan work, he needed two neutral witnesses, in this case, George and me. Two policemen.

(Flashback to guests milling about in the house. Viewpoints of several different witnesses are shown.)

MURDOCH (V.O.)  
The guests were allowed to wander on the first floor wherever they pleased, except for the office. There is no vantage point on the first floor from which it is possible to see every corner of every room, so, it is unlikely that any single witness would be able to see everyone else.

(Flashback to CRAWFORD encountering MURDOCH and CRABTREE in the library, and CRAWFORD leaving. MURDOCH imagines CRAWFORD entering the drawing room, then promptly going to the hallway and looking to the right to see whether the coast is clear. In the darkness of the hallway, CRAWFORD's dark clothing makes him hard to see.)

MURDOCH (V.O.)  
Mr. Crawford saw an opportune moment early on. George and I saw him in the library right after we arrived, but Mr. Crawford promptly left the library.

MURDOCH (pointing to the blackboard)  
He went into the drawing room, but I believe he promptly entered the hall. No one was in a good position to see him, he was wearing dark clothing, and the hallway was dark. Indeed, the hallway may have been deliberately kept dark to conceal Mr. Crawford's presence.

CRABTREE  
And a darkened hallway would deter the other guests from wandering there. People would rather wait in well-lit areas.

MURDOCH  
True. So. Mr. Crawford pushed on the hallway door and entered the office. He may have identified himself to Mr. Tate as, as I have supposed, a deliveryman. There followed the shot, the scream, the hurried assembly of everyone in the office, and Mr. Crawford and George hastily leaving to chase an imaginary killer.

(Flashback showing BRIGGS in the office. BRIGGS listens as the witnesses say where they were and point. MURDOCH can be seen briefly addressing the witnesses and making some notes.)

MURDOCH (V.O.)  
While Mr. Crawford and George were gone, I asked the others about their alibis. So I knew essentially where each of them were at the time of the scream. Mr. Briggs heard the alibis, and so he learned all the guests' locations as well.

MURDOCH  
I remember asking Mr. Briggs to telephone the police, and he did; but he waited until he had heard all of the alibis before doing so.

(Flashback to CRABTREE and CRAWFORD rejoining the group in the office.)

MURDOCH (V.O.)  
When Mr. Crawford returned to the office, I asked him for his alibi.

(Flashback showing BRIGGS in the office, positioning himself so that CRAWFORD can see BRIGGS, then rubbing his left forearm while staring accusingly at CRAWFORD. MURDOCH is seen glancing at BRIGGS.)

MURDOCH (V.O.)  
Nobody knew this house better than Mr. Briggs, and so Mr. Briggs knew where in the house Mr. Crawford could have been so as to have a plausible alibi. Mr. Briggs had to convey that knowledge to Mr. Crawford somehow. The two men had a prearranged series of signals. It was by gestures that Mr. Crawford learned where his best alibi would be.

MURDOCH  
It was possible that, given the unpredictable movements of the guests, there might have been another guest with an uncorroborated alibi. But as it happened, everyone else had a corroborated alibi, except Mr. Crawford. But Mr. Crawford would still have an alibi that could not be refuted by any witness, and thus a basis for reasonable doubt. Add to that, the fact that everyone else in the house had a possible motive to kill Mr. Tate, and Mr. Crawford would have a good chance of convincing a jury, if it ever came to that, to acquit him.

(There is a small commotion outside MURDOCH's office as HIGGINS appears with BRIGGS. BRIGGS sees MURDOCH and shouts.)

BRIGGS  
Murdoch, what in the world is this all about?

MURDOCH  
You are under arrest for the murder of Archibald Tate.

BRACKENREID (to HIGGINS)  
Lock him up!

(BRIGGS shakes his head in denial. HIGGINS hustles BRIGGS away.)

BRIGGS (while being taken away)  
This is absurd! (His voice fades.)

BRACKENREID (to MURDOCH and CRABTREE)  
I'll telephone Freddy and have him bring Crawford over here. I'll bet you want to talk to him again, eh?

MURDOCH  
Yes.

BRACKENREID  
Crawford'll probably deny it all. He knows we don't have any solid evidence against him.

MURDOCH  
Actually, sir; I think he may well confess to the crime.

CRABTREE (puzzled)  
Confess? Why would he confess?

(BRACKENREID wonders the same thing. MURDOCH just smiles. CUT TO: interrogation room, with CRAWFORD in the chair. CRAWFORD is tight-lipped. CRAWFORD has the start of a black eye and a scrape on his face. A CONSTABLE stands behind CRAWFORD. CRAWFORD massages his wrists, as if he had recently had manacles removed, and stares stubbornly at MURDOCH and CRABTREE. BRACKENREID watches from outside the interrogation room.)

MURDOCH  
Mister Crawford.

CRAWFORD  
It was self-defence. I have nothing more to say.

MURDOCH (nodding)  
I didn't bring you here from Station House Number 2 to ask you about that. I brought you here to tell you something.

CRAWFORD  
Huh? Tell me what?

MURDOCH  
We know that this— (MURDOCH rubs his own left forearm)— means "Say that you were in the DRAWING ROOM."

(CRAWFORD's jaw drops. MURDOCH continues rubbing his own forearm.)

MURDOCH  
Now, Mr. Crawford, is there anything that you would like to tell us?

(CRAWFORD lowers his eyes and shakes his head. How could MURDOCH know this? CRAWFORD's emotions well up.)

CRAWFORD (eyes lowered)  
Briggs, that back-stabbing bastard! He sold me out! (Facing MURDOCH, angry) Don't believe what he told you! He can't blame it all on me! It was HIS idea! He made me do it! Maybe I deserve to hang, but Briggs deserves to hang with me!

(The CONSTABLE places his hands on CRAWFORD to make sure CRAWFORD doesn't try to escape or do anything violent. CRAWFORD realizes he's had it; CRAWFORD slumps and lowers his head.)

MURDOCH  
So let's go over it, from the beginning.

CRAWFORD (emotional)  
I owed money— lots of money, more than I owed Tate— to a man named Joe Werner.

MURDOCH  
I know Mr. Werner, quite well: a racketeer.

CRAWFORD  
Werner said he was going to have me killed if I didn't pay. I went to Tate to see whether he could lend me more money, but I ended up talking to Briggs. Briggs said he'd give me enough money to pay off Werner if I— helped him— kill Tate. I had no choice. What else could I do? Briggs told me he'd set it up so that no one would be able to prove anything!

MURDOCH  
Go on.

(CUT TO: MURDOCH walking with OGDEN along the street at a leisurely pace.)

OGDEN  
So he confessed it all?

MURDOCH  
Yes. When I rubbed my left forearm (MURDOCH demonstrates) and said that we knew this was a signal to say "I was in the drawing room," he broke. He couldn't imagine that anyone would figure out what happened, so he concluded that Mr. Briggs must have betrayed him. So he then betrayed Mr. Briggs.

OGDEN  
And Mr. Crawford was blackmailed into committing the murder?

MURDOCH  
In a manner of speaking, yes. In exchange for killing Mr. Tate, Mr. Crawford received cash to ransom his own life from Joseph Werner.

OGDEN (knows the name)  
Werner, despicable man.

MURDOCH  
After Werner got paid, a criminal named Yates heard that Mr. Crawford had some money, and so Yates tried to take it by force. By that time, Mr. Crawford had paid off Werner and had no money remaining for Yates to steal.

OGDEN  
So Crawford DID act against Yates in self-defence.

MURDOCH  
Apparently so. Further, Mr. Crawford was able to resolve a few unanswered questions about Mr. Tate's murder.

OGDEN  
Like what?

MURDOCH  
He described the array of signals that he and Mr. Briggs had worked out: hand on forearm (gesturing) meant "drawing room"; hand on top of head (gesturing) meant "library"; and so on. He also explained how he was able to get close enough to Mr. Tate in order to shoot him. Mr. Tate was aware of threats against his life— the threatening notes were actually written by Mr. Briggs— and Mr. Tate asked Mr. Briggs to obtain a bodyguard, who would be present while Mr. Tate spoke to his guests. When Mr. Crawford entered the office, he simply said, "Sir, I was hired to protect you today; Mr. Briggs gave me a key and told me to enter through this door." Of course Mr. Crawford used no key, but nevertheless, Mr. Tate welcomed him in and resumed working on his correspondence. While Mr. Tate's guard was down, Mr. Crawford moved behind him and killed him.

OGDEN  
And Briggs, what did he say?

MURDOCH  
He denied everything. I suppose that Mr. Briggs's defense will be that that he has an alibi, that the only evidence against him is the testimony of Mr. Crawford, and that Mr. Crawford is a confessed murderer who ought not to be believed. Add to that the fact that Mr. Tate had many other enemies, and Mr. Briggs might try to lay the blame on any number of them.

OGDEN  
But there's evidence Briggs orchestrated this murder— yet Briggs might convince a jury that there's reasonable doubt. If he escapes punishment— it wouldn't be fair.

MURDOCH  
I am confident that I have solved the case. Inspector Brackenreid agrees. I've done all I can do, for now. When Mr. Briggs's case comes up for trial, Mr. Crawford will testify.

(MURDOCH smiles slightly, and then becomes dead serious.)

MURDOCH  
And so will I.

(MURDOCH and OGDEN walk on. FADE OUT.)

THE END


End file.
